Healthcare in Paris 2026 — Expat Guide to French Healthcare and Health Insurance

Healthcare in Paris 2026 — Expat Guide

France consistently ranks among the world's top healthcare systems by WHO assessments. The French Assurance Maladie (national health insurance) provides comprehensive coverage for residents, reimbursing 70-100% of approved healthcare costs. Employees and self-employed individuals contribute to the system through social charges (cotisations sociales). Most French residents top up their Assurance Maladie with a complementary mutuelle insurance to cover the patient co-payment portion. This guide covers healthcare in Paris in 2026.

French Assurance Maladie

• All legal residents of France (including EU citizens and foreigners with long-stay visas) are entitled to join the Assurance Maladie through the Protection Universelle Maladie (PUMa) scheme
• Register with the Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie (CPAM) of Paris after obtaining your residence documentation
• Reimbursement rates: Assurance Maladie reimburses approximately 70% of GP visits, 80% of specialist visits, 65-100% of hospitalisation costs, and varying rates for prescriptions
• Carte Vitale: Your French health insurance card; always bring it to medical appointments for direct billing (tiers payant)

Mutuelle Complementaire Insurance

• A mutuelle covers the patient co-payment portion (ticket modérateur) not covered by Assurance Maladie; employed workers typically receive a group mutuelle through their employer (partly funded by the employer)
• Individual mutuelles cost approximately €30-€100+/month depending on coverage and age
• Providers include Malakoff Humanis, MGEN, Harmonie Mutuelle, April Santé

Finding a Médecin Traitant (GP) in Paris

• Register with a médecin traitant (your designated GP) to receive full Assurance Maladie reimbursement rates; seeing a specialist without GP referral results in reduced reimbursement
• Use ameli.fr (the official Assurance Maladie website) to find GPs accepting new patients
• Paris has an international medical community; many 8th and 16th arrondissement practices have English-speaking doctors

Emergency Care in Paris

• Emergency number: 15 (SAMU — ambulance) or 112 (EU emergency)
• Major Paris public hospitals: AP-HP group (Hôpital Lariboisière, Necker, Pitié-Salpêtrière, Saint-Louis)

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